Shakespearean Era re-created in Amity during the finale of 'The GREAT Essay 2016', organised by British High Commission in collaboration with Amity

'The GREAT Essay 2016' organised by British High Commission in collaboration with Amity concluded today at University Campus,Sector-125, Noida. The Competition aimed at giving the winning student from India a glimpse of UK and acquaint him/her with different aspects of multi-cultural Britain.

Over 250 students from various Universities and Colleges across India participated in the Semi- Finals of the Competition such as Lady Irwin College, National Law University, Delhi, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, APJ Satya University Gurgaon and others wherein they were given a choice to write about a topic of their interest out of four options which included “Uniform Currency Worldwide”, “World Tourism”, “Net Neutrality, “Ethics as a roadblock to Power”and “Changes in India”.

During the finale of the Competition, Students from Amity Institute of English Research and Studies and Janki Devi Memorial College recreated the world of the great Bard, William Shakespeare by enacting the timeless characters of his famous plays including “Othello”, “Cleopatra”,“Desdemona”, “Lady Macbeth”, “Caliban” and others which transcended the audience to early modern era.

The five finalists of the Competition included Ms. Prashanti Chundri from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mr. Iashaan Mishra- NLU, Delhi, Ms. Rangashri T K– NLU, Delhi, Ms. Karishma Maria from Amity Law School, Delhi and Ms. Aiman K.Rizvi of ALS, Noida.

Ms. Richa Anirudh, RJ and Journalist, Ms. Hannah Cockburn, Head, Political and Bilateral Affairs, British High Commission, Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, AUUP; Dr. Alpana Kakkar ,Dy. Dean Students’ Welfare & National Coordinator of GREAT ESSAY and Mr.James Evans, Political Section, British High Commission felicitated Ms. Aiman K. Rizvi of Amity Law School (ALS), Noida and Ms. Rangashri T K –National Law University, Delhi who won the Competition. The prize included one-week sponsored study tour to UK and a lifetime opportunity to experience Culture, Arts, Commerce,History and Politics of the UK.

The finalists gave two minute presentation of the essay they wrote in semi-finals and were judged by Mr. Asad Mirza- BHC and others on the same. Ms. Aiman K. Rizvi spoke emphatically about“Ethics and Power can co-exist” and ethics are not a roadblock to power. She stressed that “Ethics” and “Power” are the two sides of same coin and power without ethics will not survive for long.

Providing a brief of the Competition, Dr. Sanjeev Bansal, Dean-Faculty of Mgt. Studies & Director, ABS, Mentor- The GREAT Essay 2016 said that 'The GREAT Essay 2016' aims to strengthen the ties between India and UK and promote shared values of both the countries. He shared that Competition was divided into three rounds- Prelims were organised in respective Colleges and Institutions from December 18-January 10, 2016 and 580 Essays were received. The Semi-finals were organized in Amity University on January 18, 2015 which witnessed humungous participation by students. He wished all the participating students and applauded their hardwork.

Sharing her views, Ms. Hannah Cockburn, Head, Political and Bilateral Affairs, British High Commission appreciated Amity for meticulously organising the Competition and appreciated young leaders for their boundless enthusiasm, energy and inspiring presentations. She outlined that all the great leaders in India including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru have studied from UK. Dwelling on 5 reasons for Indian students to consider studying in UK, she said that four out of the five top Universities of the World are in UK; its lifestyle has been ranked amongst top in the world; UK is like home for Indians since there are too many Indians already studying in UK, Higher Education in UK is value for money and UK offers great Scholarship Programmes to the deserving students. Dispelling the common myths, she stressed that UK wants foreign students and it is just cracking down heavily on bogus colleges and fake students; its not difficult to get UK visa and 9 out of 10 students who apply for visa get one and foreign students studying in UK can stay in UK and work for 3 years with a possible extension of 3 more years provided they are employed in their own area of skill. She congratulated all the participants and stressed that they will all become the great leaders of tomorrow.

Addressing the youth, Ms. Richa Anirudh, Journalist congratulated Amity and British High Commission for successfully organising the Competition since, she stressed, that it is very important to know what youngsters think and topics issues. Sharing her concern,she opined that it is very important for youth to indulge in ethical communication since with the surge of social media, 140 characters or words on Twitter could trigger unforeseen consequences, Therefore, it has become very important to keep a track of what one says or writes on social platforms. She congratulated all the participants and called upon the Winner to live and enjoy each and every moment in UK.

Also present during the occasion were Mr. Pradyumna Bora- Programme Manager, BHC, Dr. K M Soni- Deputy Dean, Engineering and Technology, Amity, Ms. Alka Mudgal- Head, Amity Institute of Education, Noida, Ms. Kanwal Bawa Bhalla- Head, Amity Institute of English Studies and other senior officials/ Directors and HOIs of Amity and BHC.